The connectors used in fluid techniques and more particularly in pneumatic techniques only allow the pipes to be disconnected to the extent that they have been previously emptied of their pressure. The connecting element of the "coupler" type allows such disconnection more readily under pressure, through an incorporated valve which automatically closes the upstream fluid flow by the effect of its pressure; the need to equip the downstream pipe with an appropriate end piece and the fact that being uncoupled it is then free of any fixing means limits the use of couplers to pipes having a mobile character. In fixed and complex installations, valves are preferred to which the pipes are permanently connected, allowing the circuit of the fluid to be established or interrupted and in this latter case by decompressing the downstream pipe. These valves of the bistable type, with mono or multifunctions, with manual controls by actuating a lever or rotating a knob, are very much used in the pneumatic technique for controlling and routing information signals. Because of their complexity, they prove to be very expensive not only at the time of buying but also for maintenance, compared with their low frequency of use.
The aim of the present invention is to offer a device of robust simple construction covering these needs and which may be installed on the pipe the connection of which it provides at the same time either to another pipe or to the orifice of a fixed component. Depending on its function, it may ensure the continuity of one or more fluid flows, or interruption thereof with emptying of the downstream circuits, or different combinations of the upstream circuits with respect to the downstream circuits.